Gursheen Anand

"I am from the northern part of India. I did my Bachelors degree in Psychology from Gandhi Memorial National College, Ambala Cantt, India in 2004. I was the second top student in my class among 150 students. I also worked with the NGO, Red Cross and dealt with children (5-12 years of age) with learning disabilities. At the same time, I also did a voluntary case study on drug and alcohol addictions, under the supervision of my lecturer. I immediately commenced my Masters degree in Psychology at Punjabi University, Patiala, India and I completed my postgraduate course in 2006. I got a First Class degree and was amongst the top five per cent of students in the class.

During my postgraduate studies, I also did voluntary work, provided community counselling on birth control and AIDS awareness, mainly in rural areas, helping the people to understand the importance of family planning and economic management. In liaison with my colleagues I had conducted workshops for high school students in Patiala and also delivered lectures on career guidance. During my summer vacations, I have worked for a human development programme focusing on empowering women and helping people with AIDS and rural development.

During my second year of university, I worked for a cardiologist and provided awareness among people who had experienced heart problems (first heart attack). I taught coping skills to help them to deal with this, together with relaxation therapies.

I found the Child, Adolescent and Family mental health course at London Metropolitan University on the internet. When I went through the modules of this course, I got really excited, as this was exactly what I was looking for. I was screaming with joy for two weeks after I got the email and learned that I was awarded a scholarship. I am very grateful for this, I really like this course, the teaching staff are excellent and they are delivering exactly what I want to learn from this course. The basic focus is on child and adolescent mental health. Focus on children is most important nowadays, as a healthy child is hopefully going to be a healthy adult.

I am enjoying studying and living in London and even learning outside of the classroom, too. I have learned lots of positive things that I can take home and try to implement there as well and vice versa.

When I finish my course, I would like to return to my hometown in India and implement my education in my profession. I will definitely be among India’s finest psychologists/counsellors. As the competition is increasing in the current work culture, there will also be the need to address more issues in mental health. Hypertension, depression and stress are also increasing day by day in big cities and they need to be addressed.

As it is said that prevention is better than cure, I would also like to join the human development programme which addresses many issues in preventive and therapeutic manners. Thanks to London Metropolitan University for giving me the right opportunity at the right time to fulfil my dreams."

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